Teenagers Are Often Priced Out of the Labor Market by the Government GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: Teenagers are often priced out of the labor market by the government-mandated minimum-wage level because employers cannot afford to pay that much for extra help. Therefore, if Congress institutes a subminimum wage, a new lower legal wage for teenagers, the teenage unemployment rate, which has been rising since 1960, will no longer increase.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?

(A) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen when the minimum wage has risen.
(B) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen even when the minimum wage remained constant.
(C) Employers often hire extra help during holiday and warm weather seasons.
(D) The teenage unemployment rate rose more quickly in the 1970's than it did in the 1960's.
(E) The teenage unemployment rate has occasionally declined in the years since 1960.

“Teenagers are often priced out of the labor market by the government-mandated minimum-wage level” – is a  GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can either find a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or have logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: B
Explanation: The GMAT's critical reasoning portion assesses a candidate's ability to think critically and analytically. To come up with a coherent response. The candidate must have strong deductive and thinking abilities.
For "additional help" provided by minors, such as during the holiday season when their own workforce is insufficient. Employers do not wish to pay minimum wages.
In other words, the percentage of teenagers who want jobs and are seeking for them but do not currently have any is rising.
In order to prevent the unemployment rate among teenagers from rising, implement a subminimum wage.
The assumption is likely that companies will continue to hire minors if they must provide lower rates for more help.

Let's examine each choice individually.

A: Incorrect
Option A is not correct. In fact, doing so will make the case stronger. If the minimum wage remained constant, there's a chance that unemployment may go down. Because of this, option A is incorrect.

B: Correct
Option B is the correct choice. If this is the case, it demonstrates that there is no connection between the minimum wage and unemployment. Therefore, even if the minimum wage is lowered to a new lower level, unemployment may still rise.

C: Incorrect
Option C is not correct. This material is unrelated and has no bearing on the debate. C is therefore a wrong answer option.

D: Incorrect
This is an irrelevant option. Although it's feasible, the outcome is unaffected by this. D is therefore the incorrect response option.

E: Incorrect
This is an irrelevant option. This is the contrarian response. The case is getting stronger as a result. E cannot therefore be the right response.
This option reveals that fewer minors are being hired even while the minimum wage remains unchanged. Let's say that two years ago, the minimum wage was $8 per hour, and 10% of teenagers were unemployed. Say the minimum wage is $8 an hour today, but 20% of teenagers are unemployed. What can we infer from this? It claims that in addition to these issues, the unemployment rate has increased. The rising unemployment rate may not be related to salaries. This undermines our judgement, hence the answer is as a result.

Therefore, B is the appropriate response.

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